“The Daughter Of The Land”: Kamala Harris’s Ancestral Village In India Prays For Her Election Victory

More than 8,000 miles (13,000 km) from Washington, a temple in Thulasendrapuram prays day and night for Vice President Kamala Harris to win the US Elections. 

The temple in  Harris’ ancestral village in southern India offered prayers for her victory on Tuesday early morning.  

#WATCH | Tamil Nadu: Prayers offered for the victory of US Presidential candidate Kamala Harris at her ancestral village, Thulasendrapuram

The US presidential elections are set to take place on November 5, with Harris going against former US President and Republican candidate… pic.twitter.com/9wTq19aK9n

— ANI (@ANI) November 5, 2024

The prayers were organised by Anushanath’s Anukragni organisation on Tuesday at the Shri Dharmasastha Temple in the Thulasendrapuram village in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.

The organisation’s founder, Ballu, affirmed hope that Vice President Harris will win the upcoming elections. “Kamala Harris is going to contest the US Presidential elections. She will definitely win the elections. We have organised a special puja for her victory. If she wins the polls, it will be a very happy occasion for the whole state,” he said.

Harris’s maternal grandfather PV Gopalan was born more than a century ago in Thulasendrapuram. According to reports, Gopalan and his family migrated to the coastal city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu’s capital. There, he worked as a high-ranking government official until his retirement. 

Born in California to Donald Harris and Shyamala Gopalan, Kamala progressed through the political hierarchy. Vice President Kamala Harris has her roots in India. Her mother was Indian, and her father was Jamaican; both immigrated to the United States. She was born in Oakland, California, and attended Howard University, a historically black university in Washington.

Media has reported that Harris’s name is engraved into a stone that lists public donations, along with that of her grandfather at the temple. Outside, a large banner wishes “the daughter of the land” success in the election.

The village made headlines four years ago when the residents prayed for victory for Harris’ Democratic Party in 2020. When Harris was named the Vice President, the villagers distributed food and celebrated her victory by bursting firecrackers. 

Earlier, an 11-day Maha Yagnam was conducted in Telangana to celebrate Kamala Harris’s victory in the US Presidential Elections.

Speaking to ANI, Nalla Suresh Reddy, the founder of Shyamala Gopalan Educational Foundation, said that Goddess has listened to everyone’s voices, and they are optimistic about Kamala Harris’s chances of winning and becoming the first woman President of the US.